There are many different winter sports in the Olympics that get a lot of coverage and acknowledgement, but today I’m going to talk about one that hasn’t been in the Olympics in 98 years. Skijoring is an obscure sport with an origin in Scandinavia in the early 1900s. The word, skijoring is Norwegian, and it basically means “ski driving”. The rules for skijoring are that a rider is on skis and is attached to either a dog or a horse by a harness and they try to win a race while not falling off. Think water skiing, but being on land, and being pulled by a horse instead of a motorboat.  

Skijoring recently was in the news and may be making a comeback.  There was a big skijoring event which happened in Boise, Idaho starting at the same time as the Milano Cortina winter Olympics. The event is called Skijor Boise, and it takes place over one weekend at the beginning of February.  This competition involves horses that pull skiers through a course that involves multiple obstacles. Cash prizes for the winners can be up to $50,000.   

I decided to interview my sister about skijoring, because she is an avid horse rider and I was interested in here take. 

I first asked her if she thought she would ever be interested in doing skijoring?  I then showed her a video of skijoring and she said “No, I don’t think so.”  I then asked her if she would do any winter Olympic sport and she said “yes, maybe snowboarding.” I asked if she thought skijoring seemed more difficult than horseback riding, and she thought it probably was and really didn’t think if you were good at one, you would necessarily be good at the other.   

Skijoring hasn’t quite made it to Maryland yet, so if you want to get in on the action, you will likely have to travel to the more mountainous states in the US, including not only Idaho, but Wyoming and Colorado.  If all this talk about skijoring has got you thinking it may be for you, then check out the website www.skijorusa.com where you can find upcoming races in the United States for both this year and next. According to the website, this is the fastest growing winter sport in the United States. It appears that the closest race to Maryland is one in Erie, PA in January of 2027, so that gives you plenty of time to perfect your skills and learn more about this thrilling sport.